Rafael Nadal
IN PHOTO: Rafael Nadal of Spain attends a news conference after being defeated by Novak Djokovic of Serbia during their men's quarter-final match at the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, June 3, 2015. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissie

Rafael Nadal has prevailed over Marcos Baghdatis in the second round of the 2015 Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart. Nadal defeated Baghdatis 7-6(5) 6-7(4) 6-2.

The match marked the ninth time that Nadal and Baghdatis crossed paths on professional tour. It was only the second meeting for both on grass court after their semifinal clash at the 2006 Wimbledon. Nadal has extended his head-to-head record against the Cypriot 8-1.

Speaking after the match, Nadal said that he is “very happy” that he survived his first match on grass. The Mallorca native, who is coming off from his quarterfinals defeat to Novak Djokovic at the Roland Garros, added that his first game on grass is extremely vital in his quest to rebuild his lost form and move back up in the world rankings.

“Every match on grass is very dangerous, and Marcos is a great player,” Nadal said. “He had played a match here which helped him a little bit, but it is very important for me to be through to the quarterfinals.”

Nadal said that he is undeterred to play “more aggressive” and hopes to be ready when he clash against Australian Bernard Tomic in the last eight. Tomic is through to the quarterfinals after he defeated Tommy Haas in straight sets in the second round. It will be the third meeting for Nadal and Tomic on professional tour after they played in the Round of 128 at the 2014 Australian Open. Nadal leads their head-to-head series 2-0.

Nadal is also through to the quarterfinals in the doubles event. He and his partner Feliciano Lopez conquered Australian Rameez Junaid and Canadian Adil Shamasdin to advance 7-6(5), 6-2. In their next match, Nadal and Lopez will play Colombians Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah.

Completed Second Round Match Results

Rafael Nadal def. Marcos Baghdatis 7-6 6-7 6-2

Bernard Tomic def. Tommy Haas 7-6 6-2

Gael Monfils def. Andreas Haider-Maurer 7-6 7-6

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Jerzy Janowicz 6-4 6-4

Alexander Zverev def. Viktor Troicki 6-3 6-7 6-3

Sam Groth def. Feliciano Lopez 3-6 7-6-7-6

Mischa Zverev def. Andreas Seppi 6-2 6-4

Marin Cilic def. Matthias Bachinger 7-6 6-3

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